“Baa! Baa-a-a-a!” Sweet dreams are made of this

Friday, December 9

Our first full day at our camp near Blythe, California, and what do we do? Go to Fart & Smile (aka Smart & Final). The grocery store.

Of course!

On the way into town, I’m startled by an unusual sight.

“What is that over there?”

“Oh, they’re SHEEP!”

I turn onto the side road that runs along the canal and park.

“Wait here a minute, Reggie. I want to take a picture.”

I climb up on the berm by the canal and take a few photos of the enormous flock.

I’ve never seen so many sheep in one place!

Fitting them all in the frame at this close range is impossible.

Back on the road to Blythe . . . .

When one doesn’t have a working refrigerator, one must make frequent trips to the grocery store. My dead fridge has led me to try food I wouldn’t consider otherwise. Needing to stock protein that doesn’t require refrigeration, I decide to give canned lentil soup a try.

Yeah, lentil soup.

Lentils, as you probably know, are high in protein and “good for you.” Too bad they look like Hell In A Bowl. Little brown pellets lying in a thick brown liquid.

We’re at Fart & Smile grocery, remember?

(Turns out it’s okay. Not something I wake up in the middle of the night wishing I had in the cupboard . . . .)

I stand beside the checkout conveyor belt watching the cashier ring up my groceries. When she’s almost done, she asks cheerily, “Would you like to buy a bag for ten cents?”

Huh?

That wakes me from my stupor at which point I notice the sign tacked to the customer side of the register.

I don’t recall the exact wording.

It goes something like “Due to shoppers using so many free plastic bags with no concern whatsoever for the effect on the environment, a law has been passed forbidding the distribution of such bags by stores like the one you’re standing in right now. Your irresponsible behavior, your complete disregard for the health of our planet, brought this on, so don’t even THINK about complaining. Just buy the bigger, thicker plastic bags we have provided for your bagging convenience. By the way, from now on you will do your own bagging, too.”

Oh.

Like a good, little sheep, I reply to the cashier, “I’ll buy one bag.”

Errgh! Now I have to remember to bring the bag into the store every time or I’ll have to buy bags over and over again. This is so . . . so . . . I don’t know . . . so CALIFORNIA!

I know what you’re thinking:

For heaven’s sake, RVSue, it’s only ten cents. Stop being a grump and get with the program! We’re trying to save the planet here!

Oh, right. Well, I liked those thin plastic bags. I’ve used them in many ways, including as kitchen garbage bags. Now I’ll have to BUY garbage bags, which are made thicker and come in a box. Sorry, planet . . . .

I cram all my groceries into the one bag and leave.

Reggie smiles happily through the PTV window as I roll the cart toward him. I open the door and we share a face snuggle.

“Hello, sweetie pie. You’re such a good boy. Guess what? You’ve been so good, I’m going to take you to Carl’s, Jr. for a burger!”

While lifting the bag into the PTV, the can of lentil soup jumps out.

It escapes under the humongous, black, diesel pick-up parked next to us. Oh, great. I walk around to the other side of the truck to see if it rolled out the other side. Of course not. I open up the back of the PTV and pull out a rake.

I snag the runaway can of lentil soup and we take off for Carl’s Jr.

I order a Santa Fe Chicken Burger for me and a plain beef patty for the Reggie Man. We eat our lunch in our usual Fast-Food-Eating-Place — parked alongside the road at the edge of town, where fields of green are spread out before us. I push the seat-backer-upper button and open up the paper bag.

Reggie makes squeaky sounds. Translation: “Hurry it up, RVSue!”

I break off a little piece of burger.

Reggie gobbles it up. I alternate his bites with my bites. The chicken burger, with that green chili pepper on top, is delicious!

“Ya know, Reg?” I begin, my mouth full of burger. (It’s okay to do that when you eat with your best friend who is a dog.) “I was wanting this burger way back when we were in Colorado.”

Faster than the speed of light another piece of burger disappears.

Having this lunch with you was what I was dreaming of.

rvsue

NOTE: To be perfectly clear, the words to the sign at the cash register are my own. The real sign was written plainly and politely. I don’t want this post to cast a negative light onto the Smart & Final store which I rate highly and in which I enjoy shopping. — Sue

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203 Responses to “Baa! Baa-a-a-a!” Sweet dreams are made of this

YAP, welcome to the club RVSue, this deal of the plastic bags in California has some of us upset. Guess what the ‘ story about bags been taken away due to the environment’ is a bunch of crap ‘. Like you said those bags that were given for free a the stores were recycled & used as trash liners mostly. Now the stores are saving on bags, selling you bags to transport the groceries + selling you bags to use as trash-liners !!! Who profits ? the stores ! Who spend extra on bags ? We the people !!
Day after day we are paying more & getting less of everything.
Happy trails to you & little Reggie boy.

That’s a good question, chuck and pookie. The paper bags do compost well and one bag can be used in many ways before it’s composted.

There’s only one thing I don’t like about paper shopping bags. If you live in cockroach country, those little devils lay their eggs in the glue of the bag. You bring it into your house, the roaches hatch out, and the fight is on! Your kitchen becomes a war zone. Yuck.

Plastic bags were banned here in Austin a couple of years ago, and I do think it helps to keep the roadways cleaner. I miss them though, they were useful when scooping out the kitty litter boxes, and as liners for small trash cans.

Lol. When I was exploring northern BC, I once had to put coins into a locked rack in the grocery store parking lot just to get a grocery CART!

When I was full-timing, I used those little plastic grocery bags in a wire holder inside a cabinet door for trash. The only problem was, I kept running out, and nothing else available seemed to fit the holder properly.

One would think that you’d never run out, since all the stuff from the store came into the trailer in those bags, the trash going out shouldn’t take more bags. But somehow it did. It’s a mystery.

So I bought a thousand of them in a box from Sam’s for ten bucks and carried a hundred or so crammed into some recess under the sink at any one time. It took about 5 years to use them all up. Now that I’m back in the stick-and-brick again, they seem to be taking over much of my storage. Go figure. If you ever blow through Georgetown, TX, I can let you have a thousand or so, no charge. :o)

I went whole hog and bought 2 of those green cloth bags that hook to the sides of the cart if you’re lucky. But they do hold an awful lot of groceries and are easy to carry in with no rips and spilled groceries. Now if I can just remember to grab one when I go in!

I don’t know whose fault ‘the planet’s problems’ are. When I was young, pop came in glass bottles which were washed and reused. We got paper bags for our groceries which were recycled into trash bags, school book covers, coloring pads for hours of child entertainment, wrapping parcels, etc. Buy water in a bottle? WHAT? We bought meat and veggies and cooked them at home. The dog ate the leftovers, veggies and all. And you got the meat from the butcher who wrapped it in paper for you, not from a bin wrapped in plastic and on a foam tray – both of which go in the trash. Lots more along the same line, so tell me modern young, ‘world savers’, whose fault is it?

Oh my gosh, Pat, you words were my thoughts as I read this post. I still prefer paper bags….trees are a renewable resource and the industries provide jobs. And I do so agree about the way meat is packaged today…wasteful! With that said, I find that sign at the grocery store in poor taste and just plain mean spirited. And sooooooo not the way to educate the public. You will always catch more flies with honey than vinegar, so perhaps a more positively worded sign might be encouraging to shoppers. JMHO

Oh, no! No, no, no! I’m so sorry I didn’t write more clearly. The store didn’t write that sign like that. It was my imagination, trying to be funny! Please know that Smart & Final was not mean-spirited or rude in any way at all. It was an ordinary sign explaining the situation.

Funny, my sister and I have talked about a related subject often. Today families need the conveniences so the Mom’s have time to work. Mom’s have to work to pay the increased federal and state taxes for the family so our politicians have money to waste. Complicated world.

My exact thoughts while I was reading. We had milk bottles that were washed and put back out with a note of what to deliver. Not plastic. They have actually determined real Christmas trees are more environmentally friendly than artificial as well.

Funny what you call Smart n Final! We have for probably 25 years, called it Dumb and Infinity! Bag it yourself now? That’s harsh. None of our stores do that. They ask first for our bags then ask if we want to buy any, then they bag our items. I carry these Chico bags made by a company where I went to college in the town of Chico, so company carries same name. They are light nylon and I carry 5 or 6 in my purse without noticing they are there until I need them. Some I have had for nearly 10 years. One town north of us voted in law before the vote took place banning free bags, to allow store to choose whether to charge for bags so most stores in that town don’t charge. I think the law is silly because bags will still be around and it’s just a punitive tax on people who can’t afford it. Add to that the complaint I’m hearing from clerks I know about having to load groceries in filthy reused bags! Those same dirty bags sit right where your clean bags and groceries sit on counter at store.
Hope you get that fridge fixed soon. Will reopen your fresh food options, of course.
Have a wonderful day.

I didn’t come up with the name for Smart & Final. Someone mentioned it after a post I wrote last winter. It’s a happy name!

The law may cut back on the number of bags alongside a road. As for cutting back on plastic, not so much. I need something to put my garbage in so I’ll be buying plastic bags. Round and round it goes….

Our name was a play on words my two boys came up with for Smart and Final many years ago and was simply amusing to us. We like the store, which is only about a mile away. ESP like,the remodel, with more fresh fruits and veggies.

I do like Smart and Final, too. The produce department is outstanding and the store is not in a huge building. I wish it had a deli though. I’ll have to go to Albertsons (diagonally across the street) for some deli food during this refrigerator down time.

They passed a “charge for plastic bags” law in Dallas to encourage folks to bring the reusable bags. It lasted about 6 months before the complaints to the city council got it revoked. We reuse ours a bunch before recycling them. All the grocery stores around us have a bin for used bags. Oh Well. It’s a little annoyance for you but not enough to get in the way of what’s important.

Love your header photo Sue! I know what you mean about the plastic bags. I, on the other hand, have becomed overwhelmed with too many at home. I keep forgetting to take them with me to the grocery store to recycle. I swear to God that they multiply when I am not there! I also have a plethora of cloth bags in my kitchen, which I also forget to put back in my car before going to the grocery store again! I love your description of lentil soup. I love split pea soup, but think it looks the same way as lentils…not something you would voluntarily have thought to eat. Hmmm…haven’t had split pea soup in years. I don’t eat ham anymore, so I am not sure how I would flavor it. My roommates would always gag at the site of it when I made it. Oh well! Hope you are doing well! Technically it’s cool here, but the heat at my work is making me feel like I am having premature heat flashes!

I don’t know why, but at first I thought the law pertained to grocery stores only. Then I go to KMart and it’s the same deal… buy a bag. I didn’t. I put my stuff back in the cart and rolled away.

Send me your plastic bags! Hahaha!

My mother used to make pea soup with hambone. I’m sure it was delicious because she was a great cook. I was too young to appreciate it. You know how it is with kids… How food looks and its consistency is very important!

Oh, you work at a place where the temperature control isn’t for you to decide. Been there. I bet the cool air outside makes leaving the workplace even nicer. 🙂

The law applies to any store that sells groceries. I was at Target a few days ago and bought only sundries – no groceries, and I still got charged for the bags because I hadn’t taken any in with me. When I asked why I was being charged for the bag, the clerk told me it was because Target sells groceries.

Welcome to California! Hahh! Grocery and retail store you must bring your own bag! We always have the “Chico” style bags that scrunches into a very small pouch and has a carabiner clip! In the car and in our backpack when we go on vacay cay! They sell them everywhere! For a heavy duty bag…we have the ones sold at Tractor supply for a buck fifty! Got tired of our items tearing thru the Wally bags and rolling under the parked car next to us!

I’m sure there are manufacturers/import companies who LOVE the bag law. I usually embrace change. Well, that’s obvious, the way I live. I’m resistant to this change, however, but I’ll get over it. I think it’s a control issue with me. I don’t like being forced to buy something. Silly.

Yeah, the bags sold at check-out are many times thicker than the old, free bags. It’s the re-using that saves in plastic, I suppose. That is, if enough people re-use. Then there’s the purchasing of bags for garbage that people will do when they no longer have the free bags.

Speaking of….back in Lewis County NY, get this…one must now purchase clear plastic bags for garbage…so they can see that there isn’t any recycles inside your garbage! And if you don’t use them they won’t pick up your garbage!
Who would have thought…there is now garbage police! 👮

Better change them soon, or you know what will happen,, Extra, News Flash,, 2 retired San Francisco Detectives busted for the 10 day law of NY in AZ,, yaaa right,, don’t worry the Zone is a cool place to get a license and if you got it when you were young, you’d not have to get a new one till age 65 or unless lose it somehow, have a great time down there in the low desert,, we are real close to the river and hopefully in a home up in Yavapai County near the VAMC in Prescott come February,,,,👣🐾

No, I haven’t Claudia. It’s not far from here, as you probably know. A quick shot across the river on the interstate.

The van campers group (Bob Wells, cheaprvliving blog) camps there frequently. Since I don’t care for camping with groups (although I’m sure these folks are nice), I opt for Midland.

To be honest, driving by on the interstate, looking over at the area where people camp, I wasn’t drawn to the place. Maybe others who have camped there will share their thoughts.
Blogorinos: Ever camped at Ehrenberg, AZ? Tell us about it!

Come on over the line Missy, here in Arizona you can get and hoard as many plastic bags as you want. AND our markets will still bag ’em for you. BTW Don’t you have a cooler you could ice down for this period before you get the fridge running again?? Bags of Ice are readily available and even dry ice at most stores around here. You really need to get that fridge going. I remember you found a repair shop when you were here a couple of years ago that you were pleased with their prices and work. 😉 When you do pull up stakes there remember poor little faded pink piggy….*LOL*

Haha! You’re a great salesman for Arizona! Yeah, I could buy a cooler and ice. I did that once before and it was a pain in the neck. I was going to have the fridge repair done in Vegas; then the weather pushed us southward. I have a plan in the works which I’ll write about soon.

The first time I came across a buy your own grocery bag law was on a visit to France in 2008. Not sure when they put that law into place but it was that way all across the Normandy region and around Paris as well. They have now just passed a country wide ban on the thin bags used for produce as well a the standard T-shirt bags, the ones with handles, that get used to carry out the groceries. In addition in 2020 all plastic wear for food such as plates,cups and utensils must be compostable.

In Seattle we are already there with the laws regarding take out food plastic wear. Bag laws came in several years ago, most stores sell paper bags for 5 cents. The surrounding metropolitan cities that touch Seattle’s borders do not all have those same bans but some are adapting the regulations. Of course recycling is mandatory in Seattle for the various plastic, paper and metal materials and also for compostable food waste too.

good, easy to fix foods that don’t require refrigeration, potatoes, eggs, carrots, onions, bananas, real parmesan cheese from wheels and of course all the dried protiens such as beans and jerkies. Travelers in Europe during the 1800s considered parmesan cheese to be a luxury road food staple fit for a king.

Carl’s Jr. I know Reggie remembers and will remind you every time you get near town. You burger sounds good! We don’t have Carl’s Jr. here. We have Hardee’s. I noticed the sheep look like they have been sheared not that long ago. Is that going to keep them through the winter? I guess I am just used to seeing sheep with big fleece. I do not know much about sheep. I love where you are camped now. It is a great area. Is there water available there this year?

No, the spigots are still turned off at Miller Park in Blythe. The closest water source that I’m aware of is in Ehrenberg. Knowing this, I filled a bunch of jugs with water at Las Vegas Bay, along with the fresh water tank. I noticed there’s a 25-cents a gallon vending machine in town which I’m going to use soon.

I don’t know if the sheep are recently sheared or if that’s the way sheep in the Southwest look. You know how animals that live in cold places grow a thicker coat… I think these sheep will be fine during the winter here. It doesn’t get very cold in Blythe and they do have each other to cuddle with.

Hi Sue and Reggie!
Did you write “Me” on one of the sheep? If you did it made me laugh! Then I thought that I’d be one of the sheep laying down because I never get enough sleep! In fact if I could lay down and type at the same time, I’d do that, but it’s hard for me to chew gum and walk at the same time, so I decided I better sit and type. lol! I’m just so tired today that I’m chuckling at everything!

As usual, great post and pictures. Thank you for contributing to my case of the giggles! It’s better than being grumpy, so I’ll take it!

I’m still looking for my dog. I just haven’t found the right one yet. My dog is out there somewhere , pray I find one soon, because I think it’d do me good. I’ve been looking for the last 4 weeks, and the Humane Society in this area has a small choice from which to choose.

It’s worth it to wait for the dog meant for you. You’ll know when you find him (or her). You would not believe all the online searching I did during the months leading up to the Adopt-a-Pet where I found Reggie. Plus the driving around southern Cal and Arizona.

Thank you for the prayers. I hope you’re able to get all the sleep you need. Sleep is important for your health. Take care and good luck with the search!

Too many plastic bags? Contact your local library or Council On Aging and if they’ll accept them. Some crafty ladies will get the bags and crochet a rug for the homeless to use for bedding…helps to keep them warm. YouTube has how-to videos on making them. Me… I just use them to clean out the cat litter box and to recycle the crap I get from politicians…it’s all fertilizer.

I was gonna go on & on about plastic bags but we are all aware of all the data but there’s enough stress in the world right now. Sooo, I’ve just got to say I loved the sheep & Reg’s cute little face! I can just imagine him devouring the burger!

Our ukulele group here on the island–Camano Ukulele Ensemble, aka CUE (nice, huh?), is having our second gig tomorrow. We’ll be serenading the lunchtime crowd at the senior center Christmas luncheon. And our next gig will be in February at the Active Older Adults monthly potluck. The theme for that gig will be “Show Some Love”. Something we all need these days. If you’re looking for a super fun way to spend your time * grow new neural pathways in your brain, try the ukulele!!

Yes, that was probably me, Sue. It’s great fun! We had a fun time yesterday singing at the senior center. I’ve never sung in a bar before but I think our gig yesterday was like that would be…people talking & playing cards…just a buzz of conversation & activity without the drinks! They clapped loudly & enthusiastically so that was nice. Jim & our neighbor Dave came for our concert–it was nice to have at least 2 people paying good attention! Our next gig will be in February at our local Y. They have a potluck once a month for seniors so we’ll be there singing love songs…ahhh! I just have to convince Jim & Dave to come again–they’re such good listeners! ;o)

Dawn. This is Barbara from Camano Island. I always wondered if I would ever run into you on the island. Well, guess what. I just came home from a meeting in which my friend, ONI, told the group about the fun she was having playing the ukulele and mentioned the places she was playing. Then, early the next morning I read this blog and found you are doing the same thing and must be in the same group, so it looks like we have an acquaintance in common and maybe it isn’t so far fetched to think we might meet some day! I hope so. And all because of rv Sue. The world is a little place.

Hi Barbara! The world is indeed a small place! I LOVE Oni! She is such a dear person. Her Santa hat was the classiest one in the group yesterday! Oni told me yesterday that our group & playing the uke is the bright spot in her week–I just wanted to give her a big ole hug! You should join us, Barbara! The uke is easy to learn–I went to beginner classes at the senior center in Anacortes for about 3 months last spring & summer. The teacher there is such a wonderful person. Let’s get serious about meeting each other, Barbara! Do you go to the Y in Stanwood? If so, maybe we could go to yoga or brains & balance together. Looking forward to reading your reply!

Hi RVSue, this post made me smile and then laugh out loud, I needed that today, thanks! You have a gift, you can go grocery shopping, buy a burger and make it fun for us bloggers, love it. Take care and be safe!

Corky likes it when I do the drive-thru… He knows there’s something coming his way…Lol. .. They are so smart. I’ll be heading south in about a month, going to meet up with family in Q. Having never been there it’s probably a one time experience.
And will spend thru February searching out the BLM camping areas. I will have solar so I’ll be free of the hook ups needed. Yippy. 52 gallon s of fresh water and I have lasted 16 days on my tanks. Adding more and more freedom as time flies by. And of course respecting your privacy as I am looking for the same.

I live in Olympia, WA, and a few years ago they banned plastic bags at all stores. The city mandated that paper bags be sold for .05 cents. Or you can bring your own bags. I have always brought my own bags even before the ban, as I have no use for the little flimsy bags that the stores use to provide. I don’t mind using my own cotton bags. Just one less thing that goes in the landfill.

We do have one store where you bag your own groceries, but it’s labeled as owned by the employees. I don’t mind. There are bigger things in my life for drama than groceries.

No refrigeration is a good excuse for burgers at Carl’s Jr! Take care, enjoy your travels.

Oh yes, we passed that plastic bag law in California and it went into effect the day after the election. AND I STILL CAN’T REMEMBER TO BRING MY OWN BAGS!!! I went to the market the other day to grab a few things, and yes, I forgot to bring a bag. I walked out of the store with things in my pockets and my arms full. Thank goodness I didn’t buy more or I would have been the walking grocery tree heading home. *sigh*. Happy Trails you two!

Lol on the title Sue,, and if one remembers one of Pink Floyd’s Album on Tear Down The WALL there are Sheep baying in the back ground and pigs grunting at the end of the song or was it Led Zeppelin, but as soon as I read the heading , the tune started playing in my head, yaaaa, I confess, I was a “Stoner” back in the day,,,,,, buy a bag and save the earth , hah, just someone want to control you on global warming and make lots and lots of money on you, plastic is plastic and it’s made out of oil, the Earth Firster’s wants you to save a “Tree” and use plastic instead,,, which reminds me of the time when the automobile was invented, the people of New York city was so happy to get rid of the smelly and sh ty horses to have a better life in the city and now because of the real pollution they want to get rid of automobiles,,, LOL and Mr. Dole wants us to go to Mars to start over,,, but really some realy know realy who is realy In Control, nuff said on the matter,,,,, That Reggie and you eating at your favorite place and injoying the memory of Colorado,,, the sheep look like they were just clipped of thier wool, to make blankets and warm clothing,,,,
Have a great week and stay safe and give Reggieman a huge hug from us,,,,,,,,,, Rusty n Piper 😎🐾

In some Washington counties they don’t have bags & they do in others, it gets confusing. I have a collection of the cloth grocery bags for when they are needed. I’ve seen bags that fold into themselves into lightweight small pouches & you clip them on you purse or in your jacket pocket. The hold a lot & are great when you find yourself in a bag free zone & are either too cheap do buy a paper bag or they don’t sell them.

Did they still have the 3 pound rotisserie chicken for cheap at the Smart & Final? I’ll be down there next month…

Hi, Rob… Yep, they still have the big rotisserie chickens. At least I think they’re the 3-pounders. I didn’t look too closely as I had to turn away, not having a refrigerator. They’re priced at $6.49. I think that’s a 50 cent increase from last year. Still a good deal…

My brother-in-law’s big old work truck developed a terrible issue with backfiring and not wanting to go. After a search of a few things, it was discovered that a plastic bag had somehow gotten up into the workings of the exhaust. And then there are the issues with bags getting away and blowing around any parking lot or urban area.

I use all of ours, too. As a matter of fact, I made a major trip to the recycle station today and took a couple of hundred of them to be disposed of in whatever fashion they use. And we use them as trash bags in our cars and in the RV. I also use them as cushioning when I’m packing and sending boxed gifts (just came in handy).

Plastic bag in the exhaust. There’s a story I’ve never heard before! Those bags do go everywhere. I see them blowing around campgrounds. People leave their campsite when it’s calm and then the wind picks up while they’re gone and there go the plastic bags.

Sue, i just remembered that in SoCAl at Stater’s Brothers Grocery store they sell Canvas Bags, i know because i used to buy them to hold the Donkeys Grain, i used 4 bags and they lasted a long time, like 5 and a half years before needing repairs,,, the last i saw them was last year, check it out, I’m sure there’s a Staters in Blythe,,,,, 👣🐾

Yaa they remind me of the T Shirts i wore when i was real young, a California brand called “Hang Ten”, don’t know if they are still around today , but they were great “T’s” back in the day,, California Surffen ,,,,,,👣🐾

Sorry, but I have to go on the side of the ban on plastic bags. If you happen to live or farm near a Walmart, you are forever picking up a field of white plastic bags before farming. Of course it’s not the poor little bags fault, but the big goof balls that toss the bags to the wind in the parking lot. Now those people I would like to ban.

No need to say “sorry.” I can relate to your feeling, Judith, regarding clueless people. I never thought about the bags in farmers’ fields. That would be annoying. I do see the bags blowing across the desert and chase after them whenever there’s a chance I’ll catch up to them. Another one of the ways I look like a fool in my daily life.

Yeah, welcome to California. Where re-usable shopping bags are now a way of life, and where i have to buy regular plastic shopping bags in bulk on ebay. Because I bought trashcans specifically made for those plastic shopping bags a few years back. *facepalm*

Here in Indiana, if you bring in your own grocery bags, some of the stores deduct anywhere from 10-15 cents per bag from your grocery bill. It seems to me like that is a more pleasant way to accomplish the goal of using less bags. More like a reward. Positive reinforcement, Baaaha! I love your sheep double, lol 😉

I need those bags.Whenever I head west I load the rig with about a hundred and use them as pooper scoopers for the pups.Always ran out of them and pilfered more from those recycle barrels at the grocery stores.This is an ecologists dilemna.Less bags more poop.More bags less poop.

I’ve used them for poop bags, too. Most of the time I use the bags made specifically for that purpose. Before I hit the road, back when I lived in my Georgia house and was preparing my Big Escape, I bought a thousand of those bags (biodegradable) from Amazon. We’ve boondocked so much (where the bags aren’t needed — I shovel the poop and bury it) that I still haven’t used all those bags.

Being the contrarian that I am, I would spend the $3 (or whatever it takes) to drive to Ehrenberg AZ, shop for groceries, DOUBLE-BAG EVERY ITEM, and dare CHP to even look my way as I bring contraband plastic bags back over the border.

Hi Sue, Here is a good and cheap portable refridgerator/freezer to take the place of your expensive built in one. Google Compact Appliance and look for the Edgestar 44 liter model. They are used by off roaders in their 4×4 rigs and work good. I had the 63 Liter model and it worked good but was too big for the back of my pickup. You have all that room in the PTV that could accommodate any of the Edgestar portable models. They are AC or 12volt and they have a magic button that if pushed will take the temp down to 8 degrees F in 28 minutes. The only thing wrong with this made in China thing are the plastic handles that may break if you lift it up if it is loaded with heavy food and cans. These are like half price or less of the standard Dometic or NorCold ones. With your Solar set up it can run nicely off your battery pack. Also these are made to work at a 30 degree tilt so people with boats use them very nicely.

I’m sure that would be a wonderful alternative to the Dometic. However, it makes me nervous being creative about stuff like this. The way the Casita is designed the refrigerator slides into a fiberglass compartment — molded so the fridge fits snugly with caulking around the edge. I wouldn’t want something that didn’t fit smoothly. In a small space like this, things have to fit.

The Dometic replacement refrigerator holds a jaw-dropping price tag, as you know. Thank you, Joe, for the suggestion and information. I like my blog to be a learning place.

BTW, if I’m not being too nosy… Are you still in Grants Pass? Or back in Arizona…. Wikieup?

Sue and Reg……..I’ve been waiting to read your blog for days know ( I’m addicted)at least thats how it feels,I just love reading your blog it puts a smile on my face and evey once in a while I still go back and read old blogs just to see the beautiful pictures and try to live in your shoes I dream of the day I will be a fulltime boondocker with my best dog by my side and my husband.
I hope to see lots of pictures of Reg and piggy having lots of fun and of more sheep too.

Welcome back to California. Yes we no longer have free plastic bags just the heavy duty reusable ones for ten cents. I bought four at Smart & Final and keep them in the truck. Now all groceries go back into the cart and I bag them at the truck. We should get a discount for using our own bags and using the self checkouts, but we don’t.
Hope you enjoy your stay in California.

You know, Norman? I really like your method. Take the groceries to the PTV in the cart and bag them there. I didn’t like the way I felt pressured to bag up my groceries quickly in order to get out of the way of the next customer’s items being scanned. I can pop the groceries back in the cart in a flash and be outta’ there. And I don’t have to remember to bring the bags into the store!

Thanks for an excellent idea! A simple solution is usually best. 🙂 Oh, and thanks for the welcome back to California!

I struggle with wondering just WHERE ALL those personal bags going across the same area as my just purchased food have been, before coming to the store?? In some areas around us you have to pay or bring your own bags…we too have lots of uses for both paper bags and plastic ones. You can only imagine how nice those plastic ones are for packing things in boxes we send to others. Lightweight too…so no worries about the charges at the PO…but you all know…sad… I have made cloth bags for others, not yet for myself…but they need to be washed often…but I guess saving water is no worry eh?? Here we have to recycle everything that goes off in the trash…I will wash cans and plastic containers, but only to a point…such a HUGE waste of water…

OK, I laughed all the way through this post. From the description of lentil soup as “little brown pellets lying in a thick brown liquid” to this is “so California” to the picture in my mind of the can of lentil soup “jumping” out of the bag and rolling under the big black diesel truck and you having to retrieve it with a rake – I came very close to wetting my pants. Sorry for the visual folks, but that’s what happens when you laugh too hard and you’re a 63 year old woman. Oh,life is good. Where else but this blog could I get so much good, cheap entertainment?

Yeah . Our brilliant voters have decided those bags we’ve had for so long and grown accustomed to are now declasse and bad for the environment. Same argument to get rid of brown paper bags before. The voters will get a shock once they figure out that the new thicker bags will not decompose as easily as the thin ones . Oh well. We who are blessed to live here in Cali just call it a sunshine tax. You will eventually end up in slightly saner Arizona before too long and will have those wonderful little bags again, but stock up , lots of my fellow Californians are moving there and will infect Arizona with their silliness.

Sue I dont know if you have tried this yet on your refer, but if you still have some those cans of air you were using in colorado, take one and take the back off the fridge and where the gas goes into the burner clean out the whole area with the canned air.
also check to see if there is anything blocking the area such as spider webs.
one way to check and see if you fridge works on elec and not gas is plug it in to your inverter someway and turn it on and see if it will start cooling. or go to a campground with power and get plugged in. then at least you will know it is a gas problem and not just the total fridge being out.
good luck! Doug

The air cans! What an excellent idea, Doug! The other day, while rummaging through the avalanche of items in the PTV, I came across that can of BOOST and wondered if I’d ever use it again. Not much call for it in the desert. 🙂

Also excellent suggestions to try on the fridge. I have a special brush I use for cleaning the ignition area and I do clean the outside compartment frequently due to the way dust accumulates so quickly in our travels across desert.

I am making a decision about the refrigerator today. It has several “problems” that I haven’t mentioned on this blog. I’ll write more on the refrigerator “story” soon.

Loved the Posts today Sue, made me laugh, thanks. And I am a recycle nut, organic goes into the garden, plastic, glass, cans, etc all go to the recycle bin. I carry those nylon bags in my pocket book for groceries. Yep, it helps save the landfills from filling up to soon, and my tiny house from filling up to soon. Best of all it helps saves the planet, and it’s animals are safer, our trash materiel is being processed and reused. Paper bags come from trees, I love trees. I believe these laws are GREAT, wish we had them here. So there, had to put in my two cents. Take Care Sue and Crew.

Thanks for your “two cents,” Diane! I love that blogorinos feel free to express their point of view and do so in a very reasonable and polite way. No one has become argumentative during this discussion even though there probably are strong feelings about it. Blogorinos rock!

Hello RVSue and fellow blogerinos. I went to the WA state office of the NFS and got my America the Beautiful pass before the rumored fee hike. The ranger said I was the third person in a week to come to get one before the increase, and said he had heard nothing about an increase and had even inquired at the regional level about such a thing. He asked me to get out the word that it’s not true, so far the offices have heard nothing. So it’s still $80 annually for regular, $0 for volunteer, $10 for seniors over 62, and a free lifetime pass for disabled (yea me!)* So okay Ranger Robert, I’ve kept my word.

I’m glad you got your pass! I hope what the ranger told you turns out to be fact. Not doubting him at all… If he says he hasn’t heard anything, then he hasn’t. Time will tell if the $10, one-time-fee, discount pass for life is here to stay. Oh, I sure hope so for all the youngsters under 62!

What seems to bother people mostly about the bag issue is that it’s mandatory. Here in Ohio, it’s not. I ride a bicycle often and we still have zillions of them on the berms and caught in fences. They’re given away by most stores and some stores recycle them, but far too many wind up polluting the land and waterways.

However, I have shopped at Aldi stores for most of my groceries for decades. They never gave away bags. No law, they just give you the option of not paying for the bags via the price of food. They will sell me a good, sturdy plastic bag for a dime. (They used to have paper for a nickel. I don’t really know if they still do because of the roach issue. I don’t use paper.) Of course, they also sell re-usable bags, and I have a couple from Aldi and others from various sources. I’m as poor as anybody, but this is not a financial hardship. I make a habit of carrying the re-usable bags, and if I forget I get a plastic bag I can count on for other purposes. I still get those thin bags from Walmart and use them for trash, but I would not buy them. They’re flimsy.

Calvin,
Sorry for intruding here…
YAY FOR ALDI’S! I visited one for the first time while in Iowa last June. What a savings-conscientious store! It was fun shopping with my granddaughter who knew everything about the refundable 25 cent rent on the shopping carts to the wide counters where you take your groceries to pack them in any container of your choice.

Intruding? Not to me; I’m a big Aldi’s fan. That approach to money is a big part of my minimalist outlook. They give me the choice of not paying hidden costs whenever they can, including bags and the cost of workers “chasing” shopping carts. (It’s a neat solution, once you get used to it.)

Well, well, well, Sue. What a hilarious post! In spite of getting here late, I laughed like crazy reading this, from the description of Amy’s Lentil Soup (try having purchased a case at Costco and looking at it in the pantry!), to the environmentally conscious you know what sign at the store, the can rolling under the truck, and you mimicking doggie manners eating with Reggie boy. Thanks for the great laugh to help me with my day!

You made me laugh today, RvSue, and I am home not
feeling well today. So thanks! All we have to do is recycle and we could have the best of both worlds! Sigh. When I was a kid I wanted to go to Austrailia to be a sheep rancher-I do love them, don’t know why! I would still love to visit Austrailia, though. Bret and I are going to try out Carls Jrs this weekend-hope its good-we don’t eat out too often, but we will be in the big city this weekend taking my Scooter in for it’s 1000 mile check up. Yep, I have ridden 1,000 miles since last spring and haven’t killed myself yet! 🙂 Well, this post may end up repeating itself-kindles are sometimes hard to write on. Be safe and enjoy your new camp!

Hi Sue and Reggie,
Always enjoy your posts, photos and travelogues.
Today I have not read all 100+ posts, (whew you guys are soooo popular) so this maybe a repeat. Years ago was introduced to cotton string bags while overseas. They are stretchy and one will hold a lot of “stuff”. Plus, they sell them on Amazon.
My biggest problem is remembering to take them in the store.
Have a safe and MERRY Christmas.

I am a few days behind but have now caught up. I was so glad and surprised to see Pink Piggy!!!! Amazing. The picture of Reggie looking out the window and his reflection in the mirror was so cute!!
I am spending every moment crocheting. Pony tail/messy bun hats went “viral” last Friday and I have orders for 32 of them!!!!! Got 18 more to go .

Hey Pauline. Friends have been asking me about the ponytail/messy bun hats, but I have no clue what they are. If you can recommend a site for me to see a crochet pattern, I would be so grateful. I don’t knit, but I do love crocheting. Thank you!!!

Your grocery bag problem is typical of the many reasons why I absolutely refuse to set foot in California and have not done so for about 15 years.

At the moment I’m camped on Padre Island Texas about 100 feet from the Gulf of Mexico. I’m at a County Park so I’m having to pay but at least I have water and electric hookups. Which is a good thing because in the two weeks that I’ve been here it’s been cloudy and rainy most of the time, which makes my solar panels useless and Boondocking out of the question.

I’m glad to see that you’re doing well and kind of wish I was back in the desert again where I could live on sunshine. But hopefully this rainy weather won’t last too much longer, or I may find myself moseying back to Arizona to finish my winter there.

A pleasant surprise to see you here again! Although I enjoyed reading about where you are and what it’s like presently on Padre Island, I do sense a too-many-rainy-days tone to your comment. You’ve always been, well, maybe not ebullient, but pretty close to it. 🙂 A stretch of rain can have that effect.

I would like to camp on Padre Island someday. I wish it weren’t so far from my usual paths. Texas is so darn big.

Yes rain can definitely have that effect, I keep looking at my GPS thinking I must be in Seattle. Yes Texas is big, after all “it’s a whole other country”.

Maybe you need to expand your paths, you can camp at the Padre Island national seashore either right on the beach or right next to the beach on pavement for eight dollars a night, half that with the senior pass. just picture the look on Reggie’s face when you turn him loose on 60 miles of empty beach!

Hello all! I too shop at Smart & Final in Blythe. Haven’t had any issues with bringing my own bags once I knew about the law. I do reuse those cheap plastic bags but I have no problem with them being outlawed because I do see them as an environmental issue. Half the time it seemed like they had holes in them and I couldn’t reuse them anyway.

Such cute sheepies!! Love your take on the sign :-))) As a California resident who voted for the new law, I’m delighted that it has already been put into place. Like so many laws that passed here first, such as no smoking in any public/commercial building and low emission gasoline nozzles, I’m really proud that we continue to help move the country toward responsible practices. I continue to be surprised it took us so long to catch up with the marijuana legalization :-)))) Glad the soup was at least okay after you had to chase after it.

This post had me giggling! Yeah, lentil soup does not get high marks for being pleasing to the eye. I have to wonder if it just was not meant to be, with the can trying to make a mad dash for freedom in the parking lot! I could picture the owner of that truck walking out of Walmart, seeing you with a rake fishing under their truck….”what the heck?!” Well, you WERE at Walmart, where sometimes one can see some “interesting” people at times!
🙂

That chicken sandwich sounds delightful! I will need to see if Hardee’s (the sister company of Carl Jr’s) has that on their menu. That tasty combination might just be too far south of bland and boring for Richmond! Reggie, you are such a good boy – you earned that burger!! Thank you for taking such good care of Sue!

Have a good evening, Sue! Sending you and Reggie love and hugs from me and Gracie pup! I hope Santa brings you a new fridge for Christmas! 🙂

Yup, yuppers, uh huh. Same thing here with the bags in MD. Not ALL counties, just the uppity pretentious counties, one of which I live in. Sometimes I forget to bring a bag, like when I make sure run after work, and if I’m in a mood I won’t spring for the bag and you can see me doing a balancing act trying to get my purchases to the car. It’s actually making me consider getting one of those humongous hobo purses so I can have room for a small grocery basket full of things.

Hope you get a new fridge soon. It sounds like a pain in the tookus!

Hi Reggie. What’s on your list to Santa Paws? We know you’ve been a good boy!

Aldis and save a lot here has a buy own bag and bag your gro. I like it and now find that others must also as the other super mkts are asking if we want carry out. I m grateful prefer to carry my own. Just wheel it to car and bag there sorting out frig items and no more mashed bread. I get home in a much better mood if no one mashes my bread or bananas. I carry the mesh bags in car and always have them. I still seem to accumulate enough of those flimsy plastics to line my trash and pooper scoop. Plus pack whatever.

Neat, I made it here in time to be within the first two hundred comments! I’m late to the party because I needed to take care of getting repairs done to keep my home heated. Thankfully, that was accomplished without letting this place get cold inside at any point(current temperature outside with wind chill factor is 8 below zero in this part of NY.).

Thanks for the photos of the sheep(those are the first grey ones I’ve ever seen) and for the laughs 🙂 .

8 below zero! During the day! I’m very glad the repairs are complete for you and your critters to stay warm tonight, weather. Good of you to stop in here with all you’ve dealt with today. Have a relaxing evening and rest well tonight, warm and cozy.

Wishing you safety and warmth and good food while you are tucked away in the storm, Weather!! I have been 35 below once years ago…anything below zero is harsh!! Actually, now in old age…anything below freezing is not too easy!!

http://www.cawrecycles.org/faq-on-bag-bans
FAQ bags. Funny how this is such a popular discussion. We bought doggie bags at Big Lots. Now my pockets don’t bulge with plastic.
Sue glad you enjoy Blythe, found it had some hidden charms when broke an axle there.

Heh…so we survived before we had plastic bags and we can do so again…there are lots of things from my childhood that we did not have that we do today…and THEN we survived…I even remember having to have a phone line that was shared with some unknown person…and my grandparents who lived in the middle of California and were on a farm…had to share a phone line with quite a few other folks. Interesting what we think we need eh? Somehow communication then was even better…people wrote letters, etc. We need to rethink a lot of things I guess. Some groceries stores now, such as Costco, simply put their used boxes to use…and that can be downright handy…I keep some of them in order to support hot dishes I am taking someplace, in the car trunk…and hope a stomp on the brakes, with the box, will keep it safe (has so far!!)

I’ve been trying not to rant but paper bags may be from a renewable source but there’s a reason they were phased out. Ever lived near a paper mill. We grow mostly hardwoods here thank God but have you seen the land when logging is done after paper reapers. Do you know about the mercury in your rivers. Have you seen the forest area around a paper mill after an emission error has killed acres and polluted the land and water. I live in mark Twain nfs but to the south ozark nfs near LA has good pine management and emission control but I’ve seen a kill zone in West Virginia and it would make you cry. We near to cut back our paper usage as well. Fabric has its drawbacks also. EPA guideline have made it too stringent to dye fabric here. So they do it in Korea or China I guess that solves the problem. Yeah right. Our conservation department and most of Canada and eastern North America states no more than 2 meals of fresh caught fish a month because of the mercury Plastics aren’t the answer either my husband worked for a period in a plastics department that poured shoe heels and died from cirrhosis of the liver from toxic poisoning. He was a teetotaler so no remarks. We as consumers need to look atways to do more than recycle we have to stop consuming. We are killing the planet. Our used clothes is bundled and sent to Africa for resale No one in this generation ever heard of rag pickers or their use. I could go on and on sorry.

I can no longer eat fish at all, due to my mercury toxicity…having my amalgums changed out some years ago helped me…but not enough to eat fish. Right now I having problems finding hardly anything that seems ok with me…some of us are the canaries in the mine I guess…you are so right in all this. So sorry you lost your husband that way…

The charging for plastic bags is not a California thing. The US is so slow to catch on. They’ve been charging about 10 cents for plastic bags in Europe for years and years – I was there in 2000 and 2008 and everyone there brought their own woven or fabric shopping bag to the grocery store, and it was standard everywhere to charge you for a bag if you didn’t bring one. I really don’t know why people complain about it here.

Wow, almost an entire comments section on plastic bags! I’m still playing catch up so doubt that you will even see this but cannot believe how riled up some people get over them. When they are gone I guess we will have to find something else to line our waste baskets with. Used to be paper bags before if I remember correctly, that’s if we didn’t need them to cover our school books. Oops, my age is showing. Did get some useful info from Rattlesnake Joe on compact appliances which I’m looking for, Doug H on how to check your fridge to see if it’s just a gas problem, tho think I remember, and I could be wrong here that you had some other blips with that unit in the past, and, the best from Chey from Wa Coast on the senior Pass, as I have procrastinated getting mine and got shook reading that our lovely elected officials have seen fit to take yet another positive thing away from those of us who have lived long enough to get and enjoy it. Grrrr! And we have no recourse that will even get their attention???

Did you mention where you got DuckL’Orange from? Would love to get one for Jasmine for Christmas along with a nice fleece blanket for inside her crate. What is it with dogs loving to shake the daylights out of their toys? Hope you get the fridge fixed soon, hate thinking of all those chickens you could have taken home but had to pass up. Lentil soup doesn’t come anywhere near close.
Stay warm for those of us who live in layers until spring,
JazzLover

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Meet the canine crew!

Roger (left) and Reggie (right)

What is the BLT?

The BLT is what I consider the Best Little Trailer, a 2011 17-foot Casita Liberty Deluxe which is the full-time home for me and my crew.

What is the PTV?

The PTV is the Perfect Tow Vehicle. It's a 2005 Chevy Express Van with a V-8, 5.3 liter engine and equipped with a 200-watt solar panel on the roof and two AGM batteries inside.

What is a blogorino?

A blogorino is a reader who opens up the comment section of this blog and writes a message. Blogorinos are kind and friendly and fun to know!